[Opinion] The fears of Next gen Gaming

The next generation is finally here! After what seemed like a decade since today's generation was announced, we are entering the next step in gaming. But with it comes uncertainty about the stability of the industry and business models that could strengthen or weaken gaming.

While our current generation has pumped a lineup of incredible titles, it also marked the end of a good number of studios such as, Zipper Interactive, Radical Entertainment, Cubia, 38Studios, and the once third publisher giant, THQ. Not only that but a campaign of anti-gamer models were put in place such as, Online Passes, first day DLC(That you have to pay), Micro-transactions and DRM. While the latter was only put in place in a small number of games, including freebies on PS+ - Online passes became a plague that threaten to slowly squeeze the life of a delicate market which is known as AAA games.

Micro-transactions has worked on MMO's but not standard games such as, Dead Space 3. However I fear that this will become the norm this upcoming generation. There are so many unknowns ahead of us. While we are about to reach a new chapter that promises experiences which the likes we've never seen, the threat of dirty business decisions will without a doubt pop it's head and become a hindrance to gamers.

Already we're getting the idea of what could happen: More focus on Micro-transactions; DRM; Debilitate used games market and much more! (Subscription models?). It's fine and dandy to want your favorite studio to be successful but pushing these models down our throat will not only damage their reputation but sales also. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and becoming an inconvenience is the last thing they'll need in their games.

But I want to look at things in an optimistic view. Both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One are numerous times more powerful than their predecessors along with the recently released, Wii U. We have yet to see what developers have in mind with such resources so we could get some potential wow moments coming our way that could change the industry. Creativity will play a key role here so I am looking forward to seeing which directions the video game industry will take.

What I fear the most is the greed and revenue obsession that will transform potential complete diamonds into dirt and that these models are actually working. Much like what we've seen far too many times. Good for them if they find success milking their consumers but in the end, gamers will lose.

I'm definitely more of a pessimistic mindset. There's a lot more money to be made than purchasing $60 games and a few accessories like controllers. The more sophisticated these machines get, the more paid features we see on them. I think you might see more and more great games get ruined by pay walls, subscriptions, DRM, etc. Good read fon!

This is where they have to be more careful on, especially with high budget titles. Indie and mobile games are selling adequately and I can see them do better in the upcoming years. The average consumer won't easily drop $60 on a game for them to later drop more for content that should have already been included in the game.

There is a trend here and these guys in business suits think that gamers are mindless but eventually they will realize that their dirty business models will start to financially exhaust them. Who knows, perhaps EA will become the next, THQ due to their greedy models.

I think the people are noticing some of the cheap tactics lately. Things like Sim City and Diablo III sold well enough, but could've sold more, had they not done what they did. Hell, even Blizzard says they ruined Diablo III with the marketplace and the always online BS. They realized they got away from what made their games great, in favor of something that could make money. Unfortunately, the way they went about it turned people off. This is one reason why the console versions won't have the online market.

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